Therapy for Military-Veterans: Combat Trauma & PTSD Treatment
Understanding Military Trauma
As a therapist specializing in working with military personnel and veterans, I understand that your experiences are unique and often complex. Military service can expose individuals to various traumatic events, including combat exposure, military sexual trauma (MST), training accidents, and the stress of multiple deployments. These experiences can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges that require specialized, trauma-informed care.
The trauma-informed approaches we use recognize that:
- Military trauma is often complex and may involve multiple traumatic exposures
- The military culture and training can influence how trauma is processed and expressed
- Transition to civilian life presents unique challenges that may compound trauma responses
- A sense of safety and control is essential in the therapeutic relationship
Trauma-Informed Care Principles for Veterans
Our trauma-informed approach for military personnel, combat veterans, and service members is built on several key principles:
1. Safety and Trust
Creating a safe therapeutic environment is paramount when working with trauma survivors. For veterans, this means understanding military culture and terminology, respecting your experiences without judgment, and establishing clear boundaries and expectations. We work at your pace, ensuring you feel in control of the therapeutic process.
2. Transparency and Collaboration
Military training often emphasizes clear objectives and mission understanding. Similarly, our therapy approach emphasizes transparency about the treatment process. We collaborate with you to establish goals, explain therapeutic techniques, and make decisions together about your care plan. This collaborative approach honors your agency and expertise in your own healing journey.
3. Strengths-Based Perspective
We recognize the incredible strengths, resilience, and skills you've developed through your military service. These qualities—including adaptability, discipline, teamwork, and perseverance—are powerful assets in your healing process. Our approach builds upon these strengths while addressing areas where you're experiencing difficulties.
4. Cultural Competence
Military culture has its own values, language, and norms that can influence how you experience and express trauma. Our trauma-informed approach includes cultural competence specific to military experience, ensuring that treatment respects and incorporates your military identity while supporting your transition to civilian life when applicable. We understand the unique challenges faced by active duty personnel, veterans, and their families.
5. Holistic Approach
Trauma affects the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. Our trauma-informed care addresses these interconnected aspects through evidence-based techniques that target cognitive, emotional, physiological, and behavioral symptoms. We may incorporate mindfulness, body-based interventions, and spiritual elements when appropriate to your beliefs and preferences.
Evidence-Based Trauma Treatments for Service Members
Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) for Combat-Related PTSD
PE is a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is found to be very effective in reducing symptoms of PTSD in military veterans. PE works by exposing you to the source of your fear in a safe environment, helping to decrease avoidance behavior and negative thoughts, so improved functioning happens over time. PE may also be helpful for people who are having problems with general anxiety or phobias. In PE, the therapist creates a safe environment, in which to expose patients to the things they fear and avoid. Through repeated exposures and changing thoughts, they process the trauma and modify cognitions.
PE is a structured, short-term therapy with homework. Approx. 10 t0 12 sessions. PE is supported by VA/DoD CPGs for PTSD. VA PTSD Treatment works:
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for Deployment-Related Trauma
CPT includes CBT and written exposures to find the "stuck points" to relieve the burden of symptoms related to PTSD and related conditions, including depression and anxiety. CPT is a type of CBT that aims to assist individuals who are experiencing persistent distressing thoughts related to a traumatic event. For more information on cognitive therapy approaches, you might also explore our Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) page.
CPT operates on the premise that the symptoms of PTSD arise from a discrepancy between an individual’s pre-trauma convictions regarding themselves and the world, and the information they acquire after the traumatic event.
Our assistance will involve identifying and resolving any obstacles and cognitive errors you may be facing.
Our approach to resolving these cognitive errors or stuck points involves guiding you to collect evidence supporting and refuting those thoughts.
CPT and PE for PTSD share a similarity in that they both involve confronting distressing memories and thoughts related to a traumatic experience. However, while CPT provides information on PTSD and assists individuals in addressing cognitive errors, PE may not have the same focus on addressing these thinking patterns.
CPT involves assisting you in facing your distressing memories and thoughts related to a traumatic experience.
CPT is short-term, structured therapy. CPT supported by VA/DoD CPGs for PTSD.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for Service-Related Trauma
Emotional distress – fear, shame, and guilt – can have a long-lasting impact on your sense of identity and quality of life. EMDR helps to neutralize those negative thoughts and feelings so we can resolve emotional trauma. We use talk therapy, EMDR, and other techniques that help people get in touch with their inner selves and to learn to bring nurture to themselves. Many clients find that combining EMDR with Mindfulness therapy practices enhances their ability to stay grounded during the healing process.
How does EMDR work? EMDR elicits an in-depth and revealing discussion about what happened to you. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (bilateral back-and-forth movement of your eyes from left to right) to reset the neural pathways involved in trauma. You're asked to think about your traumatic experience while being directed to move your eyes back and forth. Once you have recalled unsettling memories, one eye movement is repeated by hand. This alternating stimulation can help with communication in both hemispheres of your brain so that those neural circuits can be put into balance. This process occurs quickly, often within minutes of each session. EMDR therapy is similar in operation to REM sleep.
We offer EMDR therapy to adults. EMDR can uncover the root causes behind traumatic events and helps you overcome your debilitating effects. We believe EMDR therapy can lead the way toward healing by promoting positive behavioral change. Imaginal Nurturing is a natural accompaniment to EMDR work and leads to more gentle and easier trauma processing, and being valuable in and of itself.
EMDR is supported by VA/DoD CPGs for PTSD.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) for Military Trauma
TF-CBT is an evidence-based approach that addresses the specific needs of individuals coping with military trauma. This structured approach combines elements of cognitive-behavioral, attachment, humanistic, and family therapy to help you process traumatic experiences and develop healthy coping mechanisms.
For combat veterans and military personnel, TF-CBT can be particularly effective in addressing:
- Moral injury (distress from actions that violate one's moral beliefs)
- Survivor's guilt and complex grief
- Combat-related hypervigilance and reactivity
- Reintegration challenges with family and civilian communities
Adaptive Disclosure Therapy for Combat Veterans
Adaptive Disclosure is a newer evidence-based therapy specifically designed for active-duty military personnel and veterans. This approach acknowledges the unique aspects of military trauma, including moral injury, traumatic loss, and the complex nature of combat experiences.
This therapy helps you:
- Process difficult emotions related to moral injury and traumatic loss
- Reconcile military experiences with personal values and beliefs
- Develop self-compassion and forgiveness
- Create meaning from military experiences
Common Challenges Addressed in Military Trauma Therapy
Our trauma-informed approaches are tailored to address the specific challenges frequently experienced by military personnel, veterans, and service members:
Combat-Related PTSD
Combat experiences can lead to persistent symptoms including flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, and emotional numbing. Our evidence-based approaches help you process these experiences and reduce symptom severity, allowing you to reclaim your life and well-being.
Military Sexual Trauma (MST)
MST refers to sexual harassment or assault experienced during military service. This form of trauma can have profound effects on trust, identity, and relationship functioning. Our trauma-informed approach creates a safe space to address these sensitive experiences with compassion and specialized techniques.
Moral Injury
Moral injury occurs when you've participated in, witnessed, or failed to prevent actions that violate your core moral beliefs. This can lead to profound guilt, shame, spiritual struggles, and a sense of betrayal. Our approaches help you process these experiences, develop self-compassion, and rebuild a sense of meaning and purpose.
Traumatic Grief and Loss
The loss of comrades in combat or other military contexts can lead to complex grief reactions, often complicated by survivor's guilt. Our trauma-informed approach acknowledges the unique aspects of military grief and provides specific interventions to help you process these losses.
Transition Challenges for Military Personnel
The transition from military to civilian life can be a challenging period that may exacerbate trauma symptoms or trigger new difficulties. Our approach addresses both the practical and psychological aspects of this transition, helping you build a meaningful post-military identity while managing trauma symptoms. We specialize in veteran reintegration and military transition counseling.
Getting Started with Veteran Mental Health Treatment
Taking the first step toward trauma-informed therapy is an act of courage. I understand that seeking help can be difficult, especially given the stigma that sometimes exists within military culture. Our practice provides a confidential, respectful environment where your experiences are honored and your healing journey is supported.
If you're ready to explore how trauma-informed therapy might help you address combat-related PTSD, deployment stress, or other military-related mental health concerns, please contact us to schedule an initial consultation. Together, we can determine which approaches best suit your unique needs and circumstances.
Your service and sacrifice are valued, and healing is possible. You don't have to face these challenges alone.